1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a ceramic electronic device and to a paste coating method and paste coating apparatus used for production of that ceramic electronic device.
2. Description of the Related Art
In chip capacitors and other ceramic electronic devices, cap-shaped terminal electrodes are formed at the two end faces of the ceramic body. More particularly, each of these cap shaped terminal electrodes is formed to cover one end face of the ceramic body in the length direction, parts of the two surfaces of the body in the width direction, and parts of the two surfaces in the thickness direction.
To form such terminal electrodes, the general practice has been to use the method of dipping the ceramic body in a conductor paste or coating by a roller to coat a conductive paste on the two ends of the ceramic body and then dry the conductive paste by heat treatment to solidify it.
Terminal electrodes formed by conductive paste sometimes differ in the lengths of the parts formed on one surface in the width direction and the lengths of the parts formed on the other surface in the width direction due to the conditions under which the conductive paste is coated.
If soldering on such a ceramic electronic device, the contact areas between the terminal electrode and solder at the two surfaces in the width direction will end up differing. Therefore, the terminal electrode will receive stress of different magnitudes from the solder and the inconvenience of the phenomenon of the ceramic body standing up on its own (Manhattan phenomenon) etc. will arise.